Culture

Tourists in Algeria Battle Beach Umbrella Mafia

Tourists in Algeria are fed up with what is being called the Beach Umbrella Mafia

Published

6 years ago

August 8, 2018

Tourists in Algeria are fed up with what is being called the Beach Umbrella Mafia.

The city provides beach umbrellas for tourists to use, but some locals have gathered up the umbrellas so that they can then charge tourists to rent them. This racketeering is making a negative impact on tourists who discover they have been duped by the Umbrella Mafia.

Is the city aware? According the most, the answer is yes, but they look the other way so long as the tourists are not forced to pay for the umbrellas. But for tourists new to the beach and the supposed enjoyment of it, how would they know they don’t have to pay?

In one particular incident, the Mafia told tourists that they had to leave the beach when they refused to pay for umbrellas and instead wanted to use their own beach supplies. In a more harrowing confrontation, a tourist who had come to the beach with his family was attacked and stabbed after an illegal vendor heard him complain about the fees for renting beach equipment.

It is incidents like this that are leading tourists to take to social media to bring the racketeering practice to light. Tourists have called the police, however, nothing has come of this request for help.

The Algeria Minister of the Interior and Local Collectivities is responsible for managing the coasts, and he has said that he believes in free beach. His ministry requested that city government of beach towns enact a law to have an administrator be in charge of monitoring a police force to monitor the beaches, but so far this law has not come to fruition.

The tourism sector in Algeria has great potential thanks to its Mediterranean beaches, however, not so much if the tourists do not want to go there due to fear of being approached by the Beach Umbrella Mafia.

Culled from eturbonews

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Culture

Moroccan doctors stage nationwide protest in ‘Week of Anger’

Published

7 hours ago

December 25, 2024

Isaac Dachen

Moroccan doctors across the country on Tuesday staged a nationwide protests in what is known as “Week of Anger,” accusing the government of ignoring their calls for reform in public healthcare.

In a public announcement on Monday, the Independent Union of Public Sector Doctors (SIMSP) said the strike action would include more walkouts from December 30 to January 5.

The SIMSP said the nationwide strike would affect all public health facilities except emergency and intensive care units to ensure that some level of care remained available.

“During this time, doctors will not be at diagnostic centres and they will also boycott administrative tasks and refuse to issue medical certificates,” the SIMSP said.

The union added that a large march is planned for December 29 in Rabat, aimed at opposing laws on strikes and pensions.

The doctors’ union noted that their demands have been ignored by the Ministry of Health.

The union stated that their requests to government has remained unanswered. It also criticized a new framework for doctors, calling it scandalous as it threatens job security and opens the door to unfair dismissals.

The doctors’ demands include extra grades for doctors beyond the current scale, higher salaries, and an end to limits on promotions.

The union also wants the government to honour agreements made in 2011, 2023, and 2024.

According to the union, the doctors are also upset with the 2025 budget plan, which they say fails to address the health sector’s funding issues, expressing concerned about plans to shift salaries from central budgets to local health groups and warning that this could lead to instability.

The union added that doctors will continue to boycott school health programmes and what they call “improvised” surgical campaigns. They insist on maintaining high medical standards while pushing for change.

Culture

Ghana’s Afua Asantewaa begins second GWR sing-a-thon attempt

Published

3 days ago

December 22, 2024

Isaac Dachen

Ghanaian singer, Afua Asantewaa, on Saturday, began her second attempt at breaking the Guinness World Record (GWR) for the longest singing marathon by an individual.

The sing-a-thon which began in the early hours of Saturday, December 21, at Heroes’ Park, Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi, will run until December 25, and will see the determined songstress perform non-stop, focusing exclusively on Ghanaian songs.

According to Asantewaa’s manager, Madam Gladys Osei Owiredu, the audacious initiative is aimed at showcasing the rich cultural heritage of Ghanaian music to a global audience.

Owiredu confirmed that preparations for the event had been extensive but expressed confidence in Asantewaa’s readiness to finally break the record.

“I can confirm that she is ready for the task ahead. It’s been challenging—by way of preparations—but I can say she is ready,” Owiredu said.

Asantewaa’s second attempt follows her first effort in December 2023, which fell short of surpassing the current record of 105 hours held by India’s Sunil Waghmare.

But despite the setback, her team remains optimistic about breaking the record this time with corporate sponsors including International Maritime Hospital, Ghana Gas, Nasco Electronics, and Zoomlion Ghana Limited rallying behind her, underscoring the importance of the attempt in amplifying the global significance of Ghanaian music.